


Born to Make History

by 332Roses



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Ice Skating AU, M/M, Olympics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 13:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14380014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/332Roses/pseuds/332Roses
Summary: Dan and Cat, the internet famous ice dance team finally qualified for the 2018 Olympics. They'd become overnight internet sensations and thus interviews with them are in high demand. Que Phil Lester, a man working in the entertainment branch at the BBC, aka the lucky soul who gets to fly to Korea to interview the famed duo after each of their skates. Since it's his first and last Olympics, Dan wants to go out with a bang and he wants to do it on live tv, with the help of Phil.





	Born to Make History

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatsourphan](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=thatsourphan).



Great Britain certainly seemed to be lacking during the winter olympics, sure they brought a fair fight to the summer games, but, well, with only 2 figure skaters competing at Pyeongchang, the chances of gold in that category were slim. They became even slimmer when you realized those 2 skaters were part of an ice dance team, meaning the UK really only had 1 chance at becoming champions, at least in figure skating. 

Looking at the numbers, Phil found it very difficult to understand why he was being sent to interview the one and only ice dance team during the 2018 Pyeongchang winter olympics. Sure he was excited, this was one of his first business out of country travels since he started working for BBC, and Korea would be beautiful to see, but really he wasn’t going to be doing much. He’d only have to go to the opening ceremony and the ice dancing competitions. 11 days and only 3 interviews, plus a paid trip? Easy as pie.

He’d been sent to specialize in ice skating alone, despite his lack of interviewees, and really he couldn’t complain. His co-worker Matt was being sent to interview the curling team so really he drew the long stick. 

In all fairness they wouldn’t have sent a separate interviewer if this specific ice dance team didn’t have such a following. The duo knew how to work it on social media and had built up it’s own fandom on almost every social media site. Specifically the male part of the team. 

Dan Howell was slowly becoming a household name, one relatable tweet at a time. 

The BBC probably would’ve sent someone from the sports department had it not been for the teams rising celebrity status, but really all it meant was that Phil, a lucky man from the entertainment department, was allowed to go. Rarely did he get to leave the country on BBC business, although his youtube career had allowed for it more than once. 

When he was offered a christmas special at the BBC radio station back in 2011, Phil was ecstatic, and that had only been the beginning of his long career doing various things at the BBC radio one headquarters. He’d since hosted award shows, interviewed celebrities, and held his own radio show on Sunday nights, and now he was broadening his horizons even more. 

He still uploaded on his youtube channel although not nearly as much as he wished he did, but it was hard to balance. He always made sure he uploaded at least once a month. Maybe while he was there he could do a day in the life of Phil in Korea. 

Phil said goodbye to his houseplants, promising that Martyn would be there soon to water them. He then began questioning his sanity because he was in fact talking to his houseplants. It was not the first time; it would probably not be the last if he was telling the truth. 

Arriving in Korea was successful, Phil was able to check into his hotel and even got someone to give him (and the rest of the BBC team) a tour of where all the arenas were and where the olympic athletes would be staying. 

When he returned to his hotel he had only a few moments to get ready for his first interview, right after the opening ceremony. 

\---

Dan was going to throw up. 

He was going to walk in the opening ceremony and the idea of achieving his dreams, of this being his first and last olympics, was making him sick to his stomach. 

He (and his partner, Cat) had qualified for the 2014 Sochi games but an ankle injury on Cat’s behalf knocked them out of the running completely. But now here he was, standing with the rest of the 50 or so athletes and his partner, ready to make these games the most memorable they could be. 

Except the feeling like he was going to throw up part, maybe that wouldn’t allow for such a successful ceremony. 

Dan never ever gets sick before a competition, never even nerves, sure, after he competes he has a mental breakdown and overanalyzes every single thing he did wrong, but before? That's his calm before the storm. Nobody can be upset with him including himself. He can’t be upset with himself if he hasn’t messed up yet.

His logic was all very backwards, he knew this to be true. When he’d first signed to his current coach and she’d seen the process, well, let’s just say it was not what she’d seen with prior athletes. 

Cat was the exact opposite, she left her music playing extra loud and snapped at Dan when he tried to talk to her before competing. To be fair, competition or not, Dan had learned that Cat was always a little snappy, it was just her personality. 

They’d become partners when they were in their teens, the coach matched them up based on talent and it turned out to be quite a match on the ice, here they were, at the olympics, but off the ice? Well let’s just say they aren’t the most compatible. 

They were friends, but not nearly as close as the other ice dancers seemed, but Dan was good at acting in interviews, and Cat seemed to genuinely believe they were that close, so an image was upkept. 

The thing about ice dance is that it can only be done in men/ women pairs, which meant it would never be romantically inclined like it could be for other teams, because Dan was gay. Not openly yet, his career was far too fragile for him to be out, but he was fairly certain most people guessed. Half his following was convinced he was madly in love with Cat, while the other (more accurate) group couldn’t imagine that being possible. 

Technically he’d let the rumors go on for far too long, but it worked as a beautiful safety net. He was never asked about being gay because reporters tended to lean on the conservative side and Cat was more than happy to swoop in and pretend they were together. 

Really it was the perfect secret identity, except Dan was going to throw all that out. He’d been planning, and mulling, and plotting for the last 5 months to come out during these games. He’d be interviewed about 3 times and over that time he was determined to work up enough courage to slip his gayness in at least once. It would be his last season, he was nearing late 20s, and he’d figured he’d had a good run. Ending on the Olympics would be a high, and then he could pursue other interests while he was still young enough to move. 

Just about everyone had been trying to convince Dan for another season, including Cat. She pulled the guilt card, saying it was selfish to end her career too, and Dan had nothing really to say to that. They’d both signed a contract which expired, you guessed it, this year. Overall Dan was just ready to be done, he still loved skating, but he was tired. He’d been thrust into the career when he was 9 and hadn’t left it in over 16 years. 

He’d spent his childhood practising and training and lacing up skates, and he loved it sure, but now looking back he regretted it just a little bit. He never got that chance to obsess over cute boys or get smashout drunk on his 18th birthday, or do anything really. 

So yes, maybe he was being a big selfish, but at this point it was long overdue in Dans eyes. 

With all this on his shoulders, Dan followed close behind the flag bearer, a female skeleton champion, and right next to Cat. Somehow he managed to keep the contents of his stomach right where they belonged. 

\--- 

As it turned out, the most difficult part of the whole operation was trying to find the 2 athletes in question. The place was swarming with extremely successful and talented people and it was quite honestly giving Phil a bout of anxiety.

After watching the opening ceremony (in which he spotted Dan and Cat after some neck straining) he and his camera crew scrambled to the gathering area where the interviews would be taking place, swarmed by many other reporters doing the same. 

Eventually Phil managed to secure a calm spot and someone on his team (whoever it was, bless them) tracked down the celebrities in question without too much hassle. 

The pair stood in a way that could only be described as awkward. They were standing too far apart to seem like a couple but too close to seem like strangers and it looked like Cat was trying to grab Dans hand whilst Dan was acting as though that thought had never crossed his mind in his life. Everything just screamed awkward in Phil’s professional opinion. 

When everyone was ready Bryan, a man on the crew, counted down from 5 and as soon as he finished Phil started talking. His tv personality came out and (similar to his video personality) and he rambled off an introduction for himself quickly before pointing to the guests. Once that was out of the way it was time for the actual questionnaire to begin. 

Phil, as it seems, was not the only one with a camera personality. As soon as the countdown began Dans posture changed exponentially. He leaned more towards Cat and pasted a charming smile on his face. If Phil hadn’t seen the transformation himself he would’ve thought the facade was genuine. 

Phil had been given a list of questions to base his interview around but should the question arise he was supposed to bounce off of what the person said, to personalize it, and really the questions were just a foundation to build an interesting segment out of. The questions ranged from “how do you think you’ll do at the olympics” to “what do you think of the surplus of condoms provided for the olympic athletes?” and really that just wasn’t territory Phil wanted to trek into just yet. 

_Start with the easy questions. Work your way up._

“How did it feel to walk in the opening ceremony just now? Did it meet all your expectations?” 

There was a pause, a little bit of shuffling, and the two glanced at each other swiftly and in a weird way Phil could almost see why the audience thought they were into each other. The only conclusion he could come to is that straight people showed their affection in a different way than he tended to. 

“It was everything I’ve ever hoped it would be.” 

Cats answer was short and mostly cliche but overwhelmingly something you would expect. Dan took a bit longer to answer, seeming to contemplate his answer a lot. At long last he opened his mouth, seeming to remember the questions were for both of them. 

\--- 

_How does one work one's sexuality into these questions?_

Much like Dan tended to handle all situations concerning his feelings, he was procrastinating bringing his lack of straightness into the conversation. He’d been psyching himself up for an opportunity such as this for months, and here he was, unable to do it. 

Every single question he got his brain failed to make relate to being gay. Every. Single. One. It didn’t seem like it would be this hard all those months ago standing in front of the mirror holding the same mock interview, yet here he was, sweating like a madman, trying to formulate the words but his tongue betraying him. 

_This is fine. It’s all fine, I have 2 more interviews before the end, besides, maybe it’s best if I wait, let people judge me first on my skating and not on my sexuality._

The judging would be inevitable really, homophobia was rampant, although he was not going to be the only one ‘out’ while here. He would however, probably be the only one who came out on live tv. That is if he ever manages to do it. 

He would shoot for a later interview, that would be the best course of action. Besides, Cat didn’t even know yet, who knows how she’d react. 

_I’ll just tell Cat first, I have to, or else she’ll cause a scene on live television._

A scene was the exact opposite of what Dan wanted. That’s why tv seemed like the perfect idea. Few people around to hear the idea and yet the message spread fast. He would’ve done it on twitter, but something about interacting directly with the people who had the most access to him seemed like a bad idea. A terrible one really. 

Dan wasn’t naive. He knew no matter where he and how he came out that people would be bombarding his twitter, instagram, hell even his tumblr with everything from death threats to congratulations. He’d be completely open and out to the world ready for their judgment. 

Coming out was hard enough, but Dan would also have to deal with all the disappointed fans that had their hearts set on Dan and Cat being a couple. He was messing with people's ships which was dangerous ground. He told himself over and over that it wasn’t his fault there was nothing there, that it wasn’t his fault that he was gay, but that didn’t stop the waves of guilt that fell over him. 

Before Dan could even comprehend it the interview was over and he felt his shoulders slump over in defeat. He hadn’t done it, he spent the whole interview thinking about doing it. 

With the camera off the interviewer used the opportunity to finally introduce himself properly and that was when Dan literally shit his pants.

\---

“Sorry- Are you? You’re amazing fucking phil I’d recognize that face anywhere!” 

It was lost on Phil how this man with whom he’d been speaking with for about 10 minutes was just now realizing he knew him, but he supposed it had something to do with the stress of being on tv and on top of that being in the olympics. He tried not to question it. 

Instead he chose to question how this uber famous athlete knew of his screen username. Phil had a fair few followers and he’d been with the BBC for many years now, so it wasn’t uncommon for people to know him, but when it was in a professional setting he typically got ‘Phil Lester’ or ‘the emo from youtube’ not his straight up username. It was suspicious. 

“Uh, yes, hi?” 

Not only did Phil look confused, but Dans partner Cat looked equally as perplexed. 

“I was literally your biggest fan back in like 2009, I tweeted you pretty much everyday. Man this is so surreal.” 

Phil was unsure if he should feel embarrassed, flattered, or both. 

On the one hand it was great to meet people who appreciated his content, it was always reassuring to hear people enjoyed what he did, but on the other hand, his hair in 2009 was atrocious and this very attractive celebrity was associating that image with the current Phil. 

“Wow, thanks!”

The crew, with nothing left to do packed up their things and left the venue. The room was still packed with athletes and interviewers alike, across the room Phil could spot one or two BBC hosts, but the numbers were dwindling fast. Once people had finished up their interviews they were fast to clear out. 

Phil knew he was supposed to clear out. 

In reality he had no more business being there, he could go back to his hotel room, sleep off the jetlag, and prepare for all the touristy stuff he would do on his days off. Instead he stood right where he had been for the past half an hour, waiting for something unknown.

Maybe he thought the conversation was going to continue, Phil was the worst at gauging these kinds of situations. As soon as the camera crew left any sense of human interaction seemed to leave with him. 

Dan looked to be in a similar situation, unsure if he should keep talking. It was all very confusing. 

Cat seemed to take hold of the situation, she thanked Phil and then took Dans hand and like that they were walking away. The weird trance Phil had been in while waiting for some sort of conclusion to their conversation. 

And with that Phil followed the now masses of people trying to fit through the double doors on the side of the arena.

**Author's Note:**

> It's the ice skating phan au nobody asked for and probably only myself wanted but oh well!
> 
> This will be a 3 part series which will account for all 3 interviews Phil will do!
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm not 100% on how the olympics, the bbc, or ice dancing is run but I have done some research, that being said, if there are any inaccuracies with how these things operate I apologize! Thank you for reading and if you want to contact me my tumblr is @ratandphilgames, I'd love it if you stopped by! Adios


End file.
